Don't worry, it could be worse -- he could be a white guy.
A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )
Jacky Chan is one of the best physical actors in our age. Not only is he very skilled in his gymnastic talents, but he doesn't take himself too seriously. Unlike Van Damme or Seagal, he seems like the kind of guy you'd like to hang out with for an evening, listening to his wacky stories and watching his wacky stunts. Jacky Chan and his light hearted attitude is what makes Shanghai Noon, an otherwise cookie-cutter action comedy, work.
Buddy pictures are the bane to modern cinema. I can count on one hand the number of typical buddy pictures that have actually worked, and the only one that comes to mind is Lethal Weapon, the mother of buddy cop pictures. The suits will tell you that the key to a good buddy picture is chemistry. They'd swear up and down that the pair-up Jacky Chan and Chris Tucker was a good idea even though I thought having a sidekick constantly screaming about the difference between asians and blacks isn't what makes a good movie. Owen Wilson takes it down a notch. He's still wacky and he does talk way too much, but something about the way he carries himself makes the buddy pair-up work. I hate one-liners, but Wilson pulls them off. A lack of any sort of complicated plot also helps. Our ass isn't in a seat to watch a plot as complex as Doctor Zhivago. We want to watch Chan kick ass and Wilson crack us up. Shanghai Noon succeeds because it never steers away from this.
The DVD for Shanghai Noon is very solid. It has a good looking 2.35 to 1 16x9 enhanced picture, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and three commentary tracks. If you are a huge Chan fan, I'd say pick it up. If you're a little more main-stream, give it a viewing on a rainy Saturday night instead.
I like Jacky Chan the same way I like Jim Carey. They're great physical comics, but unlike Carey, I actually like Jacky Chan's movies. They don't make us a better person or enrich our lives. They don't stand as a testament to the artistic pillar of film the way Natural Born Killers does, but movies like Shanghai Noon are perfect to kill a couple of hours and let us forget about the world's woes.
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